The present invention relates to arrows used in game hunting and, more particularly, to an apparatus that releases a drug in the muscular surface portion of the animal upon impact. As background information on a drug that can be used, succinylcholine chloride (diacetylcholine chloride), hereinafter referred to as the "drug", is a fast acting, relatively powerful muscle relaxant. The drug has been used in bow and arrow hunting to make the bow and arrow a more humane weapon for hunting purposes. The drug, in a powdered or crystalling form, is highly stable; however, when the drug is introduced into the animal's circulatory system, an enzyme (serum cholinesterase) hydrolyzes the compound into succinic acid and choline, both of which are normal body constituents.
It has further been found that the commonly hunted game animals, such as deer, are approximately thirty times more sensitive to the drug than man. Therefore, if a drug holding device is highly efficient, it is possible to use a dosage that is humanely effective for most hunting purposes, yet is harmless to the hunter should he be accidentally shot with the arrow.
The applicant, through extensive research and testing, particularly while collecting whitetail deer with bow and arrow, has found the drug to be most effective when released in muscle tissue and organs within the thoracic cavity. However, if the drug is released within the abdominal cavity, response to the drug is often very slow, incomplete and/or transitory. By the use of dye release studies, it was found that prior drug dispensing devices release the bulk of the drug along the penetration route of the arrow. Arrows that were affixed with prior drug dispensing devices immediately adjacent to the arrowhead would therefore release the bulk of the drug in the stomach and/or intestinal contents in the case of abdominal wounds. In such wounds much of the dosage becomes bound within digestive matter and is effectively segregated from tissue through which it can be absorbed into the circulatory system. The partial and gradual absorption of the drug results in inadequate responses.
In the hunting of deer with bow and arrow, the weapon's inherent limitations are such that many deer are inadvertently struck in the abdominal cavity. In such wounds, the arrow will likely penetrate the stomach and/or intestines. Therefore, with prior drug holding devices, the drug would be released in the above described manner and would result in undesirable responses.
In experimenting with the present invention hereinafter described, applicant has found through dye release studies of deer carcasses that the present device releases the bulk of its dosage within a confined area of approximately one inch radius around the point of penetration of the arrow. In abdominal wounds, dye release studies further show that the bulk of the dosage is in contact with the peritoneal muscles, the peritoneum and the mucous membrane (hereinafter collectively referred to as "surface tissue") of the initially pierced digestive organ. This release insures rapid absorption and disbursal of the drug into the circulatory system of the animal. By using the present invention which more efficiently dispenses its dosage, a lesser amount of drug may be used to achieve satisfactory results. While only one drug was mentioned hereinabove, other suitable drugs may be used with the present apparatus in the hunting of game and nongame animals.